Thanks to all the libraries that got involved in tours and welcoming us. There are some great photos of the spaces here and you can also look up their websites for more info.

Thanks to all the speakers and presenters at the conference. We received many comments during the two days on the quality of the speakers talking in a variety of methods, from interactive presentations from the United States (Stephen Abram), pre-recorded video (Kate Lundy) to lightning talks (at Library Camp). Note: Kate Lundy’s video will be available this coming week on a number of websites. The program would not have been so good if not for all the work put in by our 12 stream committees who have been planning for months. It showed how good planning and organisation can pay off on the day. Don’t forget to record your comments ‘for real’ by giving us your feedback.

Our supportive sponsors and trade exhibitors were also really busy during the week talking to delegates, and some were even learning to tweet abit using our ALIA Guest Account @ALIATweeps and the Apple iPads available for all the delegates to ‘try out’.

Experiencing the conference came in many forms – via webstreaming for the first time, following the 2.0 components – blogs, twitter, flickr, slideshare etc – or sitting on a beanbag in Library Camp. Podcasts will be available for ALIA members from the conference website in coming weeks.

We congratulate our ALIA Public Library Stars for 2010, announced last Friday afternoon, with all the details on the ALIA website from Monday 6th September.

The Collective Wealth, Global Sharing, Global Resources conference stream also brought an international aspect to our event, with links to IFLA, and there are some great papers to look through from this stream of the conference.

Thanks to the conference committee and ALIA Staff and ALIA would also like to thank our Professional Conference Organiser, ICE Australia for all their hard work to make this a successful event.

Many of the delegates got to experience the rest of the Best of Brisbane – beautiful local handcraft shops, the GOMA Valentino Exhibition, Brisbane Writers Festival events, Southbank, great restaurants, bars, music, pubs and views, rivercats, riverbridges, Riverfire and fabulous warm weather and sunshine.

Looking forward to seeing you all again at our next major ALIA Conference which is ALIA Information Online, and all of the many satellite events and meetings during the week starting 31st January 2011, with the main conference days being 1-3 February 2011. Book ahead, register for earlybird and start planning for your next ALIA Conference experience.

Sue Hutley, ALIA Executive Director

]]>https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/05/finishing-up-alia-access/feed/0suehutleyWe love your feedback!https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/03/we-love-your-feedback/
https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/03/we-love-your-feedback/#respondFri, 03 Sep 2010 06:06:00 +0000http://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/?p=250Please take a moment to fill out the conference evaluation form in your registration pack, and drop in the box at the registration stand. Already home from ALIA Access when ready this? Please feel free to comment on any aspect of the conference in the comments section of this post. What did you love, what did you dislike, what ideas do you have to make things better for next time? Thanks for your comments!
]]>https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/03/we-love-your-feedback/feed/0citylibrariestownsvilleJust something abit differenthttps://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/03/just-something-abit-different/
https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/03/just-something-abit-different/#respondThu, 02 Sep 2010 21:08:43 +0000http://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/?p=238When we knew that we would be organising a large conference in quick time (the main only committee formed 14 months ago) we also wanted to take the opportunity to make sure that it was something abit different.

Yesterday was our first day of ALIA Access and the vibe seemed great. There were a few new things to get used to, like ensuring that you attended the session that you had booked in for, and abit of lining up (like at the airport) to get ‘checked in’ via the ALIA Volunteer hosties. By the end of the day there was a little bit more room in the sessions to flick between the conference streams. Many of the papers are available already http://conferences.alia.org.au/access2010/program.html and podcasts will be ready in a few days for ALIA members.

Our streams for Thursday though were packed out. Information Literacy, Acquisitions and New Graduates looked like the most popular. Many people around the country also packed out other venues to experience the conference via webstreaming for the first time. We look forward to hearing how it was for you all out there in ‘ALIA webcast land’. The stream convenors and their hard working committees have all contributed to creating a real variety and quality in the program – thanks to all of them.

We also have a little bit of a different trade show configuration with it being more distributed around the top floor of the Convention Centre that is our ALIA Access space this week. Glad delegates are loving the free wireless access, which extends outside into the lovely courtyard to be able to enjoy the fabulous Brisbane weather this week. Our delegates also got to play with our ‘on loan’ iPads from Apple at the tweet perch in the middle of the exhibition. Photos from the conference are at Flickr – another way to feel like you are able to experience the conference from wherever you are.

We also held a “Dine around Brisbane” night last night and a long-standing ALIA member commented to me how nice it was to go to a restaurant for a conference dinner, rather than a standard convention centre meal just for something different. I was able to be at one of my favourite restaurants in Australia – Alchemy – which has the best view and the most spectacular good food. We were also treated to their new experience of liquid nitrogen honeycomb.

But on to our last day today. Try to get to the trade exhibits by the end of lunchtime, and remember to pick up something for your library colleagues that have been ‘left behind’ to take home for them too, as you report on your ALIA Access experience. Catch up on other news via #ALIAAccess including our learner delegate tweeters at http://twitter.com/aliatweeps

Sue Hutley, ALIA Executive Director

]]>https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/03/just-something-abit-different/feed/0suehutleyVisiting the #aliaaccess Exhibition stands, searching for prizeshttps://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/visiting-the-aliaaccess-exhibition-stands-searching-for-prizes/
https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/visiting-the-aliaaccess-exhibition-stands-searching-for-prizes/#respondThu, 02 Sep 2010 13:09:02 +0000http://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/?p=231There are heaps of great information, new products, special deals and giveaways and prizes on exhibition stands, both in the exhibition hall and out on the Plaza level floor. Here’s selection for you to start you exploring:

ALIA has Rock Star Backstage Passes, free inCite mags, Love Libraries stickers and a very special deal on ALIA membership

EBSCO has the brightest blue table you’ve ever seen (just to sit at, not a prize to win…), fridge magnets with pens and some pretty good e-books to tell you about

Altarama has the latest version of Reftracker to demo, which can send and receive questions and answers with customers via SMS, Instant Messaging and widgets

Marcom has an amazing box of goodies to be won, an amazing DVD collection to talk to you about, and amazingly groovy notepads to giveaway. Also ask about their digital rights streaming of ABC TV content

FE Technologies is giving away an iPod shuffle. While you’re at the stand entering, ask for a demo of their customer self service products

Envisionware is the place to go to win a Nintendo Wii! They can also make your job easier with self service products and PC Booking systems

The fine folks at the Book House stand have a video camera you can win, frisbees to give away (ultimate frisbee match at lunch anyone?) and some great advice about all aspects of shelf ready library materials

Feeling thirsty? Trek right to the back corner of the exhibition hall and you will be rewarded with a super cool Mango slushy from Digital Education Services. While sipping and slurping, check out ‘Mango’, their new online literacy resource

Apple iPad anyone? Stop by the mega-stand of Proquest / Thorpe-Bowker / Serials Solutions to be in the running to win an iPad. Ask about ‘Summons’ by Serial Solutions, the Historical Newspapers products and Librarything for Libraries

The University of South Australia has a book voucher to win. Ask about the courses in the School of Computer and Info Sciences

OK, I admit it, yellow highlighters are my favourite colour highlighters, and the folks at OCLC have groovy retractable yellow highlighters to give away. Be sure to check out WorldCat Local. Sigh, you had me at ‘yellow highlighter’

Swets has mousepads and notepads and all the info you need to know about SwetsWise. What’s SwetsWise? Stop by the stand and ask the friendly folks

What do Softlink do when they’re not busy trying to give away a bottle, no, a magnum of Shiraz? They provide a Library Management System that may just be the solution you’re looking for

Alexander Street Press knows QR codes. You don’t know QR codes? Stop by the stand and ask about QR codes, and you’ll find your way to a free online playlist of music

Feel the need to win a video camera? Libero is the place to go. Ask about the new web-based version of the Libero library management system, and grab a mousepad while you’re there

Stomp has showbags to giveaway! They’re filled with movies, music, chocolates and other fun stuff. Ask them about AV supplies for your library

World Book would like to tell you about the new online product Science Power, which apparently can turn anyone into a science expert! Also checkout the Early World of Learning, a children’s literacy resource

Who’s got the ‘Gecko in the Box’? The same place where you can win a hamper worth $150? That must be the Raeco stand

Where do I get one of those famous library cat bags that I see everywhere? Head to the James Bennett stand and ask about the recent merger with Blackwell into the Baker and Taylor group

Britannica have a new amazing online resource to tell you about – New Image Quest, which has over 2 million images you can use to bring your work to life

Gale – Cengage Learning. What’s with the smiley faces everywhere? I’m not sure, you’ll have to visit their stand and ask…

The National Library of Australia stand are giving away some very nice notepad/pen sets, plus lots of news from the NLA, and some great info about Trove

3M is the place to go to learn about RFID, self-service and online fines and fees payment systems

Bibliotheca are right near the entrance to the exhibition hall, and are ready to tell you about their next generation of RFID software

Moet and Chandon Champagne to give away at the Elsevier stand! Drawn at Friday’s morning tea! Be present to win! Ask about medical e-books while you’re there! Why all the exclamation marks?! It’s Moet and Chandon Champagne!

Ingram at stand 44 can help you create on-demand print collections, stop by and find out more

Taylor and Francis are offering a year subscription to one of their online products as a prize, and it’s worth US$9,200. Plus they have French Champagne, plus they have chocolates to give away. Checkout the new TAFE collections and archive packages too

Springer have some beut e-book offers for those into the e-books

First Software Solutions is the place to head to hear about a new approach to library management systems

Out in the Plaza level area, stop by and say g’day to Wavesound, who would love you to win two prizes of audio books and large print books. Ask about Clipper e-audio books too

Charles Sturt University have wine and books you can win. They are also keen to talk about their Bachelor and Masters courses in Information Studies

Peter Pal has all the info you need to help with supplier-aided selection

LexisNexis are giving away some very generous subscriptions to their news and business online resources. Stop by and get the details of a free trial

So you know all about QR codes, and want to print your own? Brother has all the gear you’ll need, plus heaps of labelling solutions for your library needs.

ALIA Access Premiun sponsor SirsiDynix has a number of products on show at Stand 30, including:

Symphony – the core ILS system

Enterprise – a discovery layer sitting on top of the library catalogue

Portfolio – digital asset management system

BookMyne – an iPhone application for SirsiDynix products

Stop by to say hi, and put your details into the draw to win a prize!

]]>https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/aliaaccess-premium-sponsor-sirsidynix/feed/0citylibrariestownsvilleSirsiDynix#aliaaccess Premium Sponsor: QLS Technologyhttps://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/aliaaccess-premium-sponsor-qls-technology/
https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/aliaaccess-premium-sponsor-qls-technology/#respondThu, 02 Sep 2010 02:03:13 +0000http://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/?p=220One of the major sponsors of ALIA Access 2010 is Queensland Library Supplies Pty Ltd (QLS) and their new division, QLS Technology, which focuses on the electronic side of the business. Items such as a machine operated height adjustable table, and self-propelled electronic returns bins are on display at the exhibition. This 30 year old company has a sole focus on libraries, and will build and customise to suit your needs.

Alan Dorris and Colin Matthews with the self-propelled electronic bin

]]>https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/aliaaccess-premium-sponsor-qls-technology/feed/0citylibrariestownsvillelogo_qlstechQLSPlay nice in the sandpithttps://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/play-nice-in-the-sandpit/
https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/play-nice-in-the-sandpit/#respondTue, 31 Aug 2010 05:45:51 +0000http://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/?p=218The title of the post is advice (or a stern command?) given to me in pre-school when I was five years old. Is it the most useful advice anyone can ever get? Possibly.

It is advice I often repeat when discussing the best way to behave in the online ‘sandpit’. Social networking spaces online are full of fun kids and shiny toys, plus room to play, make noise and stretch the boundaries a bit. It can be easy to get carried away and forget about playing nice.

So, as I launch into the online space of another library conference, I’m taking a few moments to remind myself of my own sandpit rules. Oh sure there are heaps of netiquette guides and even strict rules on how to behave online, but when it really comes down to it, the advice about playing nice in the sandpit goes a long way.

Share your toysIt can be easy for the kids with toys to become focused inward, and forget the joy of sharing with others. I’m sure I didn’t know the word ‘clique’ at aged five, but I sure felt excluded from some of them. My aim at this conference is to hang out at the Tweet Perch in the exhibition hall as much as practical, to show people new to the online space how much value Twitter, Facebook and other online tools can add to the conference experience. If not one single new person chooses to join in online, that’s fine. Sharing the toys and giving people the encouragement and support to try the tools is my main aim. (By the way, did you know there will be Apple iPads to test out?!)

Keeping it cleanI’ll never forget the day I found cat poo in the primary school sandpit – it well and truly put me off sandpits for a few weeks. While I might drop the odd virtual sandwich crust or biscuit crumb in the corner, I try to keep unwanted stuff out of the online space so I don’t put other people off using the same space.

Looking out for othersAs a kid, I could be a pretty big sook at times. Sometimes I just wanted to play on the swings by myself, despite my friends in the sandpit calling me to join them building the world’s greatest underground city. Online, it’s very easy to drag people unwillingly into the space by posting comments, uploading photos and videos or sharing information that they would prefer to remain, well, not quite as visible. If I take a photo of you at the conference, I’ll ask if I can post it online with your name. If you say no, that’s perfectly OK, I’ll respect that.

I’m looking forward to meeting new people and catching up with old friends, both in person and online at ALIA Access 2010. If you see me playing less than nice in the sandpit, don’t hesitate to remind me of my own rules

]]>https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/play-nice-in-the-sandpit/feed/0citylibrariestownsvilleGetting ready – and great tipshttps://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/getting-ready-and-great-tips/
https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/getting-ready-and-great-tips/#respondTue, 31 Aug 2010 02:40:54 +0000http://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/?p=214Kate Sinclair must have been having the same thoughts (see below) as her post just arrived as I have finished this one

Everyone is preparing for the ALIA Access conference. Here are a couple of links of tips and discussions as to how to get the most out of a library conference :

]]>https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/getting-ready-and-great-tips/feed/0suehutleyCountdown to ALIA Access…https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/countdown-to-alia-access/
https://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/countdown-to-alia-access/#respondMon, 30 Aug 2010 14:12:47 +0000http://aliaaccess2010.wordpress.com/?p=205Our ‘sold out gig’ is almost here and it’s been great to see the excitement building for “THE” ALIA event of the year.

I’m sitting here in my hotel room after a long but productive day spent with the rest of the ALIA Board, reading all the tweets from #aliaaccess delegates as they pack, catch flights or prepare presentations.

We can’t wait to see you all here in Queensland. For those packing in the cold, rainy south, Brisbane is putting on some gorgeous sunny weather for you to enjoy!

This is my personal packing list of essentials for ALIA Access:

BYO satchel – Yes, ALIA Access isn’t providing a satchel but asking delegates to BYO. Well, I have a large and extensive collection of conference bags & satchels, the only problem was choosing (and fitting it in my suitcase)! We’re looking forward to seeing how creative delegates can be.

My ALIA star pins – say it loud, I’m an ALIA member & I’m proud! One of my favorite things about conferences is you see lots of delegates proudly wearing their ALIA stars. Don’t forget to visit the ALIA Booth in the exhibition area to get an “ALIA member” tag for your badge as well!

My Aurora pin – looking forward to seeing some familiar faces from the Aurora Leadership Institute and catching up at the New Grads event on Wednesday night

My collection of #ausvotes election material – we may not have a government yet…but the NLA wants your election flyers, leaflets and ephemera for their collection. If you haven’t binned it already, bring it along to the NLA booth in the ALIA Access exhibition.

Wireless devices – my trusty EEEPC and my smart phone, all ready to use with the FREE wireless access at Access! Check the conference booklet in your delegate pack for your wireless password so that you can blog, tweet and share your conference experience with others. Use the #aliaaccess hashtag, follow @ALIAAccess on Twitter and catch the news on the Access Facebook page and the conference blog.

Wishing that you WERE packing for Access? Missing out on all the conference fun? Don’t forget our webstreaming registration is still open – a great way to experience the conference wherever you are in the world.